Many students look forward to Fall Break as relaxation time after exams and studying, but some are foregoing vacation to hit the campaign trail next week in support of their favorite candidate.
Princeton Votes, or P-Votes, was organized this year as an initiative to get students "campaigning in response to the November elections," said Carol Wang '07, coordinator of fall break campaigning for the group.
"We have about 40 students going on trips for fall break. They're being placed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," said Wang. "The majority is going to Pennsylvania because Pennsylvania is a big swing state. There are a lot of opportunities there," she added.
P-Votes, a nonpartisan organization, is organizing trips for those interested in campaigning, but students can support whichever candidate they want, Wang said.
Evan Baehr '05, president of the College Republicans, a P-Votes leader and a Borough Council candidate, said that Fall Break will be a continuation of Republican campaign activities.
"[We've been going] every Saturday this month to Pennsylvania and we'll continue that this coming Saturday and Sunday," Baehr said. "And then we have a lot of members coming back for the '72 hour task force' the few days before the election."
Baehr named Allentown, Pa., and Bucks County, Pa., as targets for Republican campaign activity.
Both Wang and Baehr noted that there seems to be high involvement among students this year in the presidential election.
"From what I know, very little students were involved in 2000. We are more involved this year, partially because of the P-Votes initiative," he noted.
Baehr estimated that between 40 and 50 College Republicans will dedicate a significant portion of their time over Fall Break to the presidential election. An additional 20 or 30 have been involved in their home state's Senate races, he said.
The total number of campaigning students is unclear because many students are organizing their own projects. Baehr knew of students who planned to campaign for Bush in Michigan.
The majority of volunteers this Fall Break will be campaigning will be for Kerry, a recent 'Prince' poll showed.
No matter which candidate they support, students should expect to have a good time.
"This year, [the election is] very close and heated. It's going to be a very intense experience and very demanding," Baehr said.
"A lot of students are scared that they're going to be criticized, but in general residents like to see young people getting involved. I hope that they'll be favorably surprised," Baehr explained.
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